Which phenomenon causes thermocline deepening in the eastern Pacific Ocean during El Niño events?

💡 Explanation

When trade winds weaken during El Niño events, reduced westward surface water transport decreases upwelling and allows warm water to pile up in the eastern Pacific, thus deepening the thermocline because the boundary between warm and cold water descends. Thermocline deepening results, rather than increased upwelling, deep water formation, or current intensification, which are associated with other oceanographic conditions.

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